Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian scientist working in the nuclear field, was assassinated, Friday, November 27, in the suburbs of Tehran. Wounded by gunshots while driving his car, the researcher died in hospital. The attack was not claimed, but on Twitter, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian foreign minister, immediately accused Israel:
“Terrorists today murdered a prominent Iranian scientist. This cowardice – with serious indications of the role of Israel – shows the desperate warmongering of its authors. “
The foreign minister also called on the international community to “Put an end to its shameful ambivalent positions and condemn this terrorist act”.
The defense ministry had shortly before identified the victim as Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the research and innovation department of the ministry. He was ” Severly injured “ when his car was targeted by several assailants, who in turn were attacked by the scientist’s security team, the ministry said, adding that the medical team had failed to resuscitate him.
Several local media, including the Tasnim and Fars news agencies, had earlier reported an assassination attempt against the scientist in the town of Absard, east of the Iranian capital. “Terrorists blew up a car before shooting Mr. Fakhrizadeh’s car”, they had indicated.
Presented as the father of the nuclear program
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was the only Iranian scientist named in “Final evaluation” on the Iranian nuclear program that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) submitted in 2015, which also referred to the projects of the AMAD plan.
The Israeli government considers that the AMAD plan, abandoned in 2003, was intended to acquire atomic weapons and claims to have obtained a large part of the “Archives” Iranian nuclear weapons on this. “Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh”Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a 2018 speech in which he revealed the existence of documents. Despite the end of the AMAD plan, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh continued to work on “Special projects” on behalf of the Iranian defense ministry, he added.
On Twitter, President Donald Trump immediately relayed the information concerning this assassination which takes place less than two months before the arrival at the White House of Democrat Joe Biden, president elected in the November 3 election in the United States.
Biden intends to change posture vis-à-vis Iran after four years as President of Republican Donald Trump, who withdrew from the agreement with the great powers signed in Vienna in 2015 on the nuclear program from Tehran. The United States then reinstated and then tightened the sanctions against Iran.
